WASHINGTON – Amid tensions in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized and spent four days in the intensive care unit, according to two senior administration officials.
The Pentagon did not inform senior White House National Security Council officials about Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday, three days after his arrival at Walter Reed Medical Center, a US official confirms. Politico was the first to report the delay.
Austin has been unable to perform his duties since New Year’s Day, a senior defense official said Friday. Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told NBC News that Austin “resumed all of his duties” Friday night. He remained hospitalized Saturday.
Details about what ailed him were not available. He remained hospitalized Friday night and it was unclear when he would be released, the source said.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Monday night for “complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” Ryder said in a statement Friday night.
Pentagon officials will not reveal what the procedure was or when it occurred. They also declined to provide details about the severity of Austin’s condition this week.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who was on leave, has resumed her duties, the senior defense official said.
Hicks was on scheduled leave when Austin was hospitalized this week, according to a defense official. He has been on vacation in Puerto Rico, the official said.
She “has maintained full communication with DOD personnel at all times,” the official said. “She has overseen the daily operations of the DOD and has conducted some routine business.”
Third in line among Pentagon civilian leaders, the office of the undersecretary of defense for policy, is temporarily filled as an acting position because nominee Derek Chollet has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the source said. Sasha Baker has been acting in the role since last summer.
“At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act and exercise the Secretary’s powers, if necessary,” Ryder said in the statement.
Pentagon officials declined to describe Austin’s condition or say what exactly prevented him from carrying out his duties this week.
The Pentagon also did not disclose details about the procedure or when it took place, and did not say whether Austin was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
When asked why the Pentagon kept Austin’s hospitalization a secret, Ryder told NBC News: “This has been an evolving situation where we had to consider a number of factors.”
These include Austin’s personal privacy, he said.
While Austin has been hospitalized, the United States carried out a rare and controversial attack on a senior Iranian-backed militia member in Baghdad, bases with Americans have been attacked at least six times and the Biden administration has been considering options for strikes. to Houthi militants in response. to its continuous attacks against ships in the Red Sea.
Tension in the region centers on the war between Israel and Hamas. In October, the US Navy sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean in response.
Iran-backed and Yemen-based Houthi militants, unhappy with Israel’s attacks on Palestinian communities, have been attacking container ships in the Red Sea.
On Dec. 30, a U.S. Navy destroyer shot down two Houthi missiles after responding to an attack on a container ship that caused no injuries or damage, military officials said at the time. The next day, Houthi rebels fired on navy helicopters responding to a distress call from a container ship. The Navy responded, sinking three small boats and killing their crews, authorities said.
The United States also fears further regional entanglement as Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon trade ammunition with Israel along its northern border.
